Gophers crack top 25 in latest men's hoops poll

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Indiana remained the top-ranked team in the
latest Associated Press men's basketball poll, but Duke has vaulted directly
behind the Hoosiers after beating a second top-five team in as many weeks.

Indiana received 47 first-place votes, one more than last week, and a total of
1,606 points from a nationwide media panel, while Duke moved up three places
and picked up the remaining 18 No. 1 votes.

The Blue Devils were ranked eighth in the preseason, but in the last two weeks
have beaten a third-ranked Kentucky squad and a second-ranked Louisville team.
They'll get another top-five opponent this week when No. 4 Ohio State visits
Durham as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Michigan moved past Ohio State and is ranked third this week, while Louisville
dropped three places to fifth. The Cardinals lost to Duke in the championship
game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas on Saturday.

Syracuse, Florida, Kentucky, Arizona and Kansas complete this week's top 10.
Kansas moved up two spots after North Carolina fell out of the top 10
following a loss to Butler last week in Maui.

The second 10 consists of Creighton, Gonzaga, Michigan State, North Carolina,
Oklahoma State, Missouri, Cincinnati, North Carolina State, Colorado and
Georgetown. North Carolina dropped five places from ninth, while Gonzaga,
Oklahoma State and Cincinnati each moved up five spots.

Georgetown moved into the poll for the first time this season after beating a
then-ranked UCLA squad and dropping an 82-72 decision to Indiana as part of
the Legends Classic last week.

The last five teams ranked are Minnesota, Illinois, San Diego State, UNLV and
New Mexico. UNLV dropped six places from 18th after losing to Oregon last
week.

Minnesota, Illinois and New Mexico are all newcomers. Minnesota had a solid
showing in the Bahamas, losing its opener to Duke before wins over then-No. 19
Memphis and Stanford, while Illinois captured the Maui Invitational by beating
Butler in the title game. New Mexico won three games last week, including a
66-60 victory over then-No. 21 Connecticut in the championship game of the
Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.

Memphis and UConn were among the teams that dropped out. The biggest fall was
UCLA, which was 11th last week. The Bruins, after losing to Georgetown in
Brooklyn, narrowly beat Georgia the next night before dropping a 70-68
decision to Cal Poly at home Sunday night.

Baylor also fell out of the poll. The Bears were ranked 24th last week and
suffered a 63-59 home loss to the College of Charleston.

This week's schedule features two other ranked matchups from the ACC/Big Ten
Challenge, as NC State visits Michigan and Indiana hosts North Carolina on
Tuesday.